Syria – Refugees Returning from Lebanon Facing Increased Detention and Disappearances

In September, following the start of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, many Syrian refugees who had been sheltering in Lebanon to escape the Syrian civil war began returning to their homeland. However, at Syrian border checkpoints, authorities intensified their scrutiny of returning refugees, leading to reports of forced detention, conscription, beatings, harassment, and disappearances. At the end of October, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reported at least 23 cases in which Syrian refugees were arrested or detained by government forces while returning to Syria.

Since the start of the civil war in 2011, 1.5 million Syrian refugees have sought refuge in Lebanon. The UN announced that more than 425,000 women and children have traveled from Lebanon to Syria, with 70% of them being Syrian.

Awad, an 80-year-old Syrian woman, said that as she returned from Lebanon—where she had lived for ten years—to Idlib in Syria, her daughter-in-law and daughters were forcibly detained. She had to pay US $1,000 for their release.

Suleiman, who fled with seven family members, described a perilous journey, as roads leading to the Syrian border were destroyed by bombings. He said he was beaten at a border checkpoint due to missing documents, and that he was arrested immediately upon arriving in Syria, forcing him to hand over the jewelry his wife had kept.

Conditions in Syria remain dire. According to UNHCR, out of 5 million people living in northwestern Syria, 4.1 million need humanitarian assistance for basic survival, and 1.9 million reside in temporary camps. Syrian men still face the risk of forced conscription due to mandatory military service.

Psalms 130: 1~4

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

🙏Pray for

1. Lord, hear the cries of Syrian refugees wandering in Lebanon and Syria due to the war. Although they have returned to their homeland, they face harsh realities, and their hearts have become as poor as dust. We repent for the global Church’s dulled interest after years of conflict and now bring their suffering before Your throne once again. Have mercy on those who do not know where to turn, and provide safe places for refugees to stay. May the global Church take notice and find various ways to help, opening doors so that assistance may reach those in need. Shine the light of the Gospel upon them and grant them salvation.

2. Lord, look upon Syria, devastated by relentless war, and show Your compassion. Bring an end to this war. Rebuild and restore this desolate land upon the solid rock of the Lord, granting complete restoration. Comfort the Syrian Church, which has passed through the valley of death amid severe persecution during the war. Use the surviving remnant of the Church as a channel of salvation for the Syrian people.